Think Before You Drink: A Different Approach to Drinking Responsibly

Rick Barnes will visit ESU on September 25 to discuss his philosophy on drinking.
Photo Credit / Amanda Schreck

Rick Barnes will visit ESU on September 25 to discuss his philosophy on drinking. Photo Credit / Amanda Schreck

By Kendrick DiazSC Staff Writer

Considering the notoriety our school has been receiving for its partying, ESU students should definitely attend the interactive discussion Drink Think: A Personal Approach to Alcohol by Rick Barnes. It will take place on the September 25 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM in the Abeloff Center for Performing Arts.

Before students dismiss Drink Think as another seminar preaching never to drink and completely demonizing alcohol, consider this: Rick Barnes emphasizes personal choice.

On his YouTube channel discussing and previewing Drink Think, he explicitly states that he “never says ‘don’t drink’; [he] really thinks drinking is a very personal decision.” However, if someone does choose to drink, he highly suggests that he or she “slows down a little” and drinks responsibly.

Barnes designed this program to be different from other alcohol programs because he deems them to be hypocritical and often unrealistic.

He says, “many speakers will say ‘don’t drink’, but following the program they go somewhere and have a drink.” Obviously, the message is not really effective if the speaker contradicts himself with his actions.

Barnes chooses to drink, and this makes him more real for students — even more so since he is not the product of an alcohol-induced tragedy or an alcoholic family.

He is just an average person who chooses to drink responsibly.

Though Drink Think promises to be fun and induce laughter, it is a serious discussion about alcohol-use because it is the most widely abused substances on college campuses today.

While drinking can be very fun, its misuse can also lead to potential consequences.

To address these consequences, Drink Think has five learning outcomes: acknowledging alcohol misuse is a serious issue, recognizing that supposed reasons for drinking can seem silly when sober, understanding how alcohol changes us, confronting myths about alcohol use and abuse, and validating the choice not to drink.

Although we naturally feel invincible as vivacious youths, we do have to recognize that we are in fact vulnerable; Drink Think will discuss this in a comical, realistic way.

No student thinks proactively in every situation — especially parties, where there is cheap booze aplenty.

Also, when something does happen, it is all too often that people panic — because they felt invincible beforehand — and make the wrong decisions.

By attending this discussion, students will become better informed on what to do just in case their invincibility ends.

Drink Think is all about choice and responsibility. We are young, and we are going to have fun, especially with alcohol. This being said, we should also drink responsibly, and Drink Think will encourage this for students.